Heath Thornton

Self Study
Focus Area
The area in which the study takes place focuses on classroom management. This is an area in
which new teachers typically have the most difficulty. Since classroom management has a large
amount of components, the one specific one I will study is how students are performing during
transition periods in class. Whether this be the time between core subjects (such as Math, English
Language Arts, Science, or Social Studies) or the daily specials (gym, art, music), students must
know the expectations and carry out the necessary procedures. This prevents any excess time lost
in between transitions and allows for more time invested into the content rather than preparation.
The study was conducted over a period of two weeks during the school day (8:20 a.m. to 3:38
p.m.). Time necessary for transition was calculated and looked at closely. The second aspect of
this were the amount of students on track and ready to learn when it was time. Students that were
not ready were accounted for to show the progression of the implementation of the new routine.
By implementing the new routine, students were expected to know the expectations during
transitions between subjects and specials.
Consulted Resources
The three sources I consulted for this project were my Cooperating Teacher, Teach Like a
Champion by Doug Lemov, and the text Bill Cecils plan for the best year ever. These three
resources helped provide necessary guidance to implement necessary strategies for creating an
effective and easy-to-follow method for students to understand what is expected during any
transition through the school day.
In Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov comments on the importance of drawing the map,
or analyzing the classroom layout to ensure maximum effectiveness. To supplement this line of
thought, Lemov poses a series of questions to help best support the structure of the classroom.
One example is when and how students should be interacting during the school day. In this case,
it was advantageous to reevaluate how desks were organized in the fourth-grade classroom.
Fortunately, I was able to move several students to different areas to increase the attentiveness of
the students. Even though there are only eighteen students in the class, this made it more difficult
to relocate some students due to the presence of off task behaviors. By moving students to

different areas of the classroom, there was a significant decrease in the amount of time students
were off task.
Bill Cecil has an ingenious strategy to reduce the need for controlling a classroom, and
instead focus on only the management and continuance of positive behaviors. One of the most
important aspects of establishing the rapport with students is to share the vision, which is the
end-goal for your class. He comments that winners develop a vision and enlist others to join
them, meaning that it is the teachers responsibility to persuade students that the goal is
achievable and that why it should matter to them. He comments that having the goal is not
enough; teachers must also take time to create and explain the goal to all students. This means
the teacher must convey the importance of the goal, which I believe to be a students that
understand the expectations every step of the way towards successfully meeting the terms and
conditions of the goal.
Also, Cecil emphasizes the need to celebrate the successes the class will have along the way.
Students should receive specific praise for doing things precisely and exactly the way they are
expected. The more students see and hear the specific praise, the more they will strive to meet
those high expectations, which makes classroom management a more realistic goal. I decided
that the specific praise was a fantastic idea for students to be on board with the plan of being
the best class ever.
To supplement this, my cooperating teacher and I implemented a point system for groups, and
would select a student of the week. This way, students and teams that performed well would
receive exact praise and a chance for Peltz Pop, in which my cooperating teacher and I would
set aside one lunch period per week, and the winning team would join us and enjoy a mixture of
non-caffeinated pops. The goal of this was to enhance camaraderie among the winning teams that
would help forge bonds of respect and compassion. By implementing the aforementioned
strategies, it helped students stay on task and clear of disruptive/distracting behaviors.
The third resource consulted was my cooperating teacher, Nathan Peltz. Throughout each day
of the study, I would consult Nathan after each school day and we would discuss the
effectiveness of strategies I implemented in order to maintain attention from the students. He
recorded two items each day, the amount of time students were of task, and the amount of
students off task. Nathan recorded this data over a period of two weeks at various times of the
day where transitions took place.

Strategies Implemented
During the first week, I spent this time in observation taking mental note of how the students,
the whole class, performed without the use of any other supplemental components than the usual
cue (which is along the lines of:) with that said, it is time for (subject/special). A majority of
students could function effectively without much need for intervention. However, I found myself
constantly involved with ensuring the few stragglers would not cause the derailment of the
entire class.
To ensure success, I implemented a few supplemental components. Along with the items
implemented from discussion with my cooperating teacher (teams, student of the week), I
utilized a few specific phrases/actions that would signify the initiation of a transition. I had a few
moments at the beginning of the second week (after completion of the morning activity) to
discuss these new methods of preparing the students for the next part of the daily schedule. I
discussed, in detail, a few strategies I would use with the students. Two verbal cues and two
nonverbal cues would be implemented interchangeably to relay the notification of an upcoming
transition to the students.
The verbal cues changed the second week to more specific commands, such as Im looking
for groups ready for (subject/special), during which I would assign points to the teams that were
ready the quickest. The second verbal cue was give me five, in which students were asked to
stop everything they were doing, hold up their hands (to give the speaker their whole hand in
attention), and shift their attention to me at the front of the room.
The two nonverbal cues were, first, a nonverbal give me five, where I would hold my hand
and see how long it took the groups to be ready. This strategy would only be used if the students
were doing an activity with more flexibility in the amount of discussion and peer interaction.
Students, in this situation, began to regulate themselves and guide other classmates attention
towards the front of the room again. The second was the rainstick instrument. Students were told
that by the second time the rainstick was used, they should be back in their seats with attention
directed back at the front of the room. Needless to say, the strategies proved to be very effective.
These strategies, as proven by the data, showed a significant increase in the attentiveness and
readiness of students when transitioning to the next item on the schedule.

Data Collection
The time was measured in the amount necessary for students to be completely ready for a
transition. The total number of students in the class is eighteen. So, the percent of students off
task is the number out of the eighteen total students. This number will be shown as a percentage
in parentheses next to the total number of students off task.
Data Analysis
The students began to show a trend in a positive direction towards the end of the second week
(after the implementation of transition strategies). The average amount of students off task in the
two week total was 2.7. The average of the first week was 3.8. As for the second week, this
average dropped to 1.6. With the implementation of strategies aforementioned, there was a
significant decrease in the amount of students of task, meaning more time was spent learning
instead of being stuck in the transition phase between each lesson.
As for the time it took for students to regroup during transitions, the overall average for the
two week period was 9.1 seconds. The first week, on average, took the students 11.8 seconds to
transition. The second week showed improvement with only 6.4 seconds required for a complete
transition. Again, a significant drop in the total time for students to be ready for the next lesson.

Data Collection Week 1

Monday October 19 (8:55 a.m.):
Number of students off task: 5 (27.8%)
Time taken to regroup: 14 seconds

Tuesday, October 20 (11:50 a.m.):

Number of students off task: 3 (16.7%)
Time taken to regroup: 8 seconds

 Wednesday, October 21 (1:25 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 4 (22.2%)
Time taken to regroup: 9 seconds

Thursday, October 22 (3:20 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 2 (11.1%)
Time taken to regroup: 13 seconds

Friday, October 23 (2:30 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 5 (27.8%)
Time taken to regroup: 15 seconds

Data Collection Week 2

Monday, October 26 (8:55 a.m.):
Number of students off task: 4 (22.2%)
Time taken to regroup: 10 seconds

Tuesday, October 27 (11:50 a.m.):

Number of students off task: 2 (11.1%)
Time taken to regroup: 6 seconds

Wednesday, October 28 (1:25 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 0 (0%)

Time taken to regroup: 3 seconds

Thursday, October 29 (3:20 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 1 (5.6%)
Time taken to regroup: 8 seconds

Friday October 30 (2:30 p.m.):

Number of students off task: 1 (5.6%)
Time taken to regroup: 5 seconds

Closing Remarks
The project was a great success and a positive note for reflection on how to more effectively
manage students in a classroom setting. In this project, as it can be with any study, benefits and
difficulties were had. When discussing the benefits, it is important to mention the improved
efficiency, the students understanding expectations, and locating strategies that I would be able to
use for my teaching career.
As with any study, there are challenges that were faced. The largest difficulty I encountered
occurred in the first week of the study. Even though I had ideas about strategies and how to
implement procedures, it was difficult to gauge how much control and structure was needed for
students to understand the plan. After a few days of trying to understand where I should set the
parameters, I ultimately allotted a set time for the students and I to discuss the expectations at
each step of a transition. This significantly improved my student relations. They knew what was
expected, when to begin the procedure for transitioning, and how to be prepared for the next

lesson or special. The discussion with the students allowed the rest of the study, in a way, to
organize itself. There was very little, if any, time needed to provide additional structure during
the transition periods since the students were aware of the expectations.
During the time of the study, the benefits became more apparent with prolonged time. The
students had come to know the expectations of what to do when a transition was taking place.
This meant that I, the teacher, did not have to worry as much about disruptive behaviors, nor
students getting themselves off-task. Thus, the students were able to ready themselves quicker
and increased the efficiency of the transition periods. This allowed for more time to be spent in
lessons. As their efficiency improved over the course of the study, I was able to spend more time
creating unique and engaging lesson ideas to help facilitate a deeper level of learning. This also
played into the ideas that I aspire to carry into my professional career. These verbal and
nonverbal cues are field tested and proven with viable data, which means they are proven
effective and I will have confidence in management. A teacher with confidence does not need to
control a classroom, he simply needs to manage and maintain it.